Role of immunologic dysfunction on the pathogenesis and development of endometriosis

Objective To investigate the immunologic status in patients with endometriosis, and the implications on pathogenesis and development of the disease.Methods Lymphocyte subsets and membrane antigens related to activated lymphocytes of 87 women with endometriosis were analyzed by flow cytometry. Soluble Fas ligand (sFas- L), interleukin-2, 6, 8 (IL - 2, IL-6, IL-8), tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) and soluble IL - 6 receptor α and β chains (sgp80 and sgp130) were measured by enzyme-linked immunoadsorbent assay (ELISA) . Results (1)In comparison with the normal control, CD4+ lymphocytes and ratio of CD4/CD8 decreased in patients with endometriosis, and activated lymphocytes expressing CD25 increased significantly (P 0.01), as well as CD16 and CD56. (2)The levels of IL - 6 and IL - 8 in peripheral blood of patients with endometriosis increased significantly and were parallel to clinical staging ( r = 0.832, P 0.05), but the level of sgp80 and sgp130 were the same as the normal controls.(3)Sera sFas-L and TNF-β of endometriotic patients were both higher in stage Ⅲ and Ⅳ than those in stage I and II (P0.05) . Conclusions Abnormal immunologic status plays an important role in the pathogenesis and development of endometriosis. Measurement of sera IL-6 , FL - 8 . sFas - L and TNF-a might be useful in the diagnosis and evaluation of therapies.